Motor mount



June 30, 1953 w. RIVERS MOTOR MOUNT Filed April 28, 1950 FIG-l r m n e D n 3 Gttotneg Patented June 30, 1953 i'iED STATES UOFFICE 1 Claim.

This invention relates to a motor mount and it is one object of the invention to provide a mount which is particularly adapted to be applied to the stern of a boat and support an outboard motor rearwardly of the boat.

Another object of the invention is to so form the mount that when it is applied to a boat it will project rearwardly therefrom and support a motor in a substantially vertical position with its lower portion submerged.

Another object of the invention is to provide a mount having brackets adapted to be bolted to a boat and arms extending rearwardly from the brackets and pivotally connected with the brackets and with a rear yoke so that the yoke may be shifted vertically to adjusted positions and held in the desired position.

Another object of the invention is to provide a mount having a yoke carried by arms which are pivoted for vertical movement and engaged by a pawl for holding the arms against down ward movement after an angular adjustment has been made but allows upward movement of the arms so that if shallow water is unexpectedly encountered the motor may be automatically shifted upwardly and prevented from being damaged.

Another object of the invention is to provide a motor mount which is of light weight but very strong.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the improved motor mount, the motor and a portion of a boat being indicated by dotted lines.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the motor mount, its arms being shown in a raised position by dotted lines.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a portion of the motor mount.

The motor mount constituting the subject matter of this invention constitutes an attachment for a boat l and when applied. to the boat projects rearwardly-from the stern of the boat, as shown in Figures 1 and 2. The attaching brackets 2 and 3 of the mount are formed of angle metal and are disposed vertically against the stern board i of the boat where they are firmly secured by bolts 5 passed through the stern board and through openings 6 formed through, the brackets. The brackets are spaced from each other transversely of the stern board and spaced equal distances from opposite sides of the boat and have flanges 2' and 3' along their outer side edges which project rearwardly. Upper and lower arms l and 8 are pivoted at their front ends to the-flanges of the brackets by bolts 9 which serve as pivot pins and at their rear ends the arms are pivotally connected with forwardly extending flanges it of a yoke H by bolts 12. This yoke is formed from a plate of thick sheet metal having end portions bent to form the flanges and as the arms 1 and 8 are at all times in parallel relation to each other the yoke will.

be at all times in a vertical position while being shifted vertically between the lowered position shown by full lines in Figure 2 towards the raised position indicated by dotted lines in this figure. At their front ends the arms are formed with forwardly projecting lips orfingers l3which form continuations of their lower edge portions and constitute abutments of such length that they may have abutting engagement with rear surfaces of the brackets and limit downward swinging movement of the arms beyond a horizontal position. A block it which is preferably formed of wood, but may be formed of any suitable material, is secured against the front surface of the plate H midway its width by bolts l5, thus providing the yoke with a wide upper portion across which the clamp I6 of an outboard motor may be engaged and support the motor in a vertical position back of the mount. When the arms 1 and 8 arein a horizontal position the propeller it of the motor will be at its lowest depth while the motor is in use for propelling the boat forwardly through water and when the arms are swung upwardly towards the raised position the motor will be shifted upwardly and its propeller and the guard 9 for the propeller gradually raised. As the motor is raised its force is reduced and the speed at which the boat is driven forwardly reduced. This also allows the motor to be raised to a position allowing the boat to be driven through shallow water and if the guard I9 makes contact with rock, log, shelving bottom, or the like, a cam action created by the curvature of the guard will cause the arms and the yoke to be automatically shifted upwardly and thus prevent the'propeller from being bent or broken. When the motor and the arms of the mount are shifted upwardly by engagement of the guard with a shelving bottom, and when it is desired to support the motor in such a position that its propeller will not strike bottom while a boat is being used in shallow water, it is necessary to hold the arms in an upwardly tilted position. In order to do so one of the lower arms has its lower edge out with teeth 28 which face forwardly and form a rack along y the lower edge of this arm. A pawl or dog 2| is pivoted to the flange of the bracket to which this arm is pivoted by a pin 22. This pawl is formed from a strip of stiff sheet metal which is twisted intermediate its length, as shown at 23, so that its free end portion 24 may engage the lower edge of the arm and project from opposite side faces thereof and thus prevented from slipping transversely out of position for engagement with the rack teeth during vertical tilting movement of the arms. An opening 25 is formed in the pawl to receive the hook or eye 26 at the rear end of a spring 21 which has its other end formed with a similar hook or eye 28 engaged through an opening formed in the bracket 3. Pull exerted by the spring urges the pawl upwardly and yieldably holds it in engagement with the rack teeth, and since the teeth face forwardly the arms and the yoke may be freely shifted upwardly but can not move downwardly until the pawl has been manually pushed downwardly to a releasing position. Therefore when the arms and the yoke are swung upwardly intentionally, or by contact of'the guard with an obstruction or with a shelving bottom hear a shore line, the motor will be held in a raised position and cannot move downwardly and causethe propeller to be bent orbroken. This also allows the motor to be held in anupwardly adjusted position which will prevent full submersion and cause the boat to be driven forwardly at a reduced speed. The bracket 3 is formed longer than the bracket 2 so that it will be of sufficient length to accommodate the pawl and the spring. Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

A motor mount comprising brackets adapted to be secured against a boat, upper and lower arms pivoted at front ends to said brackets and extending rearwardly therefrom, a plate extending between said arms and having ends bent forwardly and forming flanges to which rear ends of said arms are pivotally mounted to said plate for vertical movement to lowered and raised positions, said arms having front ends formed with lips constituting abutments for engaging said brackets and limiting downward tilting movement of the arms, a block secured against the front face in said plate, one of said arms having its lower edge formed with rack teeth facing forwardly, a pawl pivoted to the bracket to which the toothed arm is pivotally connected and disposed under the toothed arm, and a spring carried by said pawl and anchored to said bracket and urging the pawl upwardly into engagement with the rack teeth.

WALTER RIVERS.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 39,945 Manson Sept. 15, 1863 316,459 How Apr. 28, 1885 650,558 Hatch May 29, 1900 1,050,672 McIntosh Jan. 14, 1913 1,690,435 Savage Nov. 6, 1923 2,138,600 Harmon Nov. 29, 1933 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 559,006 Great Britain of 1944 

